Electric vehicles, such as plug-in electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and range extended electric vehicles use one or more batteries to power the electric vehicle's drive train. Typically, the electric driving range of an electric vehicle can be limited by the capacity of the vehicle's batteries.
An electric vehicle can be charged by connecting it to a charging point, which may be located in or near a parking space in a parking lot. The charging point may be configured to charge the battery using one or more physical and/or wireless connections. For example, the charging point may comprise a charging lead which is plugged into the vehicle's battery system and/or an inductive charging system in which energy is transferred inductively between a charging pad and a cooperating pad on the vehicle.
In some situations it may be difficult for the driver to position the vehicle accurately relative to the charging point. If accurate alignment between the vehicle and the charging point is not achieved the vehicle's batteries may not be charged in the most efficient manner, or indeed at all.